Black and White Love
by Brookebynature
Summary: If the ring on her third finger wasn't enough to make him realise how much he still loved her, how much he was still in love with her, then the thought of never seeing her again definitely was. Haleb with elements of Spoby and Ezria. Set after 6x20
1. Black

**A/N:** Happy Easter weekend guys. So I'm pretty new to PLL fanfiction but I've been desperate to write something Haleb for months. This is set after the season 6 finale, with a few details altered - you'll figure it out :)

It's a two-part story so if you enjoy, please drop a review at the end. xxx

Black and White Love

"Caleb." It was only Ezra's hand steadying him that stopped him from falling down that hole. _Everything_ was shaking: his hands, his legs, his heart. "It isn't your f-"

"-Of course it is." He took a step back, shouting now. "Of course it's my fault; If I hadn't let her...If I'd just thought about it. I mean, why the hell didn't I check the floor!? What if she's hurt? If she's trapped somewhere or she can't breathe or-"

"We'll find her." Aria said, significantly more confidently than she felt. "She's Hanna. She'll be okay."

Caleb took a large step back, ran his hands through his hair and slammed a fist against the wall, leaving a dent in his wake. He glanced at the hole once more and then jumped down it.

"Caleb, what are you doing?"

"Saving Hanna." He muttered, squatting down so that he could better see the tunnel. "Pass me that flashlight."

"I'll come with you." Ezra said, grabbing a second flashlight. "Aria, you go-"

"-Stay with Aria. We need to stop leaving them alone." Caleb said, sweat forming beads on his forehead. "And tell Spencer I'm sorry."

The tunnel snaked around the lodge and came up again in the woods. Caleb coughed as he drew in fresh air and spat out a salty mixture of dust and saliva. And panic. There were no thoughts in his head other than her face only inches from his, and a sort-of hot wind rushing through his ears.

He wasn't even aware that he was making a decision as he looked up towards the sky and headed to the east. The ground bore no signs of a struggle, of two pairs of footprints or drag marks. There were no tyre tracks or drops of oil as he shone his flashlight against the bark of the trees and the shades of brown dirt he was so sick of seeing. But then, something. Something shiny and unforgiving in the bright light of the flashlight's beam: her engagement ring.

Picking it up, Caleb examined the band for blood. He hadn't realised he'd been holding his breath until he saw that both band and stone were free of red. Stuffing it in his pocket, he ran between the gaps in the trees until he finally reached the main road.

Ezra and Aria were examining the tunnel as the door flew open ahead of Spencer and Toby.

"Oh my God!" Spencer ran towards the hole, managing only not to fall down in as a result of Toby pulling her back. "Wait, where's Caleb?"

Aria looked towards Ezra, then back to Spencer. "He followed the tunnel. He's looking for Hanna."

It was silent for a couple seconds too long; everybody fully understanding what that meant.

"Is there any blood? Any sign that she's been hurt?" Toby asked.

"Other than the hole in the floor and the fact she's not here?" Aria replied, her wide eyes narrowed slightly. "Sorry."

"There doesn't seem to be any blood here." Ezra told them. "No drag marks on the wood or on the floor. No shoeprints either."

"I'll call Caleb." Spencer told them, backing away from the hole as Toby let go of her arm.

The vibration in his pocket didn't even stop him from running. He wasn't even sure how long he'd been running for, or exactly where he was headed. All he was aware of was the town of Rosewood coming a little closer into view.

"Hanna?" He gasped, choking on the sudden intake of air.

"It's me." Spencer replied solemnly. "Where are you?"

He had to stop then, bending over to gather as much oxygen as he could. It was at that moment that Caleb realised the amount of dust in his eyes as it pricked and stung, making them water.

"Somewhere between the motel and Rosewood. Closer to Rosewood."

"Are you ok?"

"Spence, I gotta go."

Caleb pressed 'end' on the call before she had chance to respond and continued his run.

"Is he ok? Where is he?" Aria asked as Spencer stared at the screen on her cell.

"Yeah." She answered softly, the wavering in her whisper betraying her. "He's fine."

"Did he say where he was?"

"Somewhere between here and Rosewood."

"He _ran_ there?!" Ezra asked.

"He's saving Hanna." Spencer answered again. "He'd run across the country if he had to."

"Spence are you ok?" Toby's voice hung in the air.

She wiped away a tear. "I'm fine. I just...I can't believe we let them talk us into agreeing to their stupid plan. A's _always_ a step ahead and every time we think we can outsmart that b-"

"-You know they would have done it anyway." Aria replied. "At least we know how A got in here. We just need to figure out what to do next."

The buildings were brown and grey blurs, morphing into one seemingly liquid row. As Caleb slowed to a stop to rest his hand on a wall in a vain attempt to inhale enough air to placate his lungs for a further few minutes, he used his free hand to wipe his face. The salt from his sweat was doing nothing to help his watering eyes, and realising his hands were no cleaner, he tugged upwards at his shirt using the inside of it to wipe away as much dirt as he could. His hands were still shaking. Only then did Caleb look down. One leg of his pants was stuck to his leg, soaked with red and brown. He hadn't even felt any pain - let alone realised he'd been hurt somewhere.

The air surrounding the town's streets felt heavy and suffocating, thick with humidity and his ever-increasing panic as to Hanna's safety - or lack of it. What if he'd run in the wrong direction? Hanna could be miles away and he could be stranded in Rosewood- debilitated.

The police station loomed like a bad omen only a few blocks away. There simply seemed too many places to look; the graveyard, backyards, empty buildings, the high school - any of them could be where she was. Or wasn't. And then Caleb noticed the church, perched unrepentant in the past few years' incidents. His feet were running again before he'd even fully realised where he was headed.

"Hanna!" His voice didn't seem to belong to him. It seemed detached and high-pitched, consumed with worry - no, terror. "Hanna!"

Something creaked. Wood. Above him.

"Hanna! Can you hear me? Hanna!" He was screaming now, completely detached from rationalisation. His feet were on the steps of the bell tower. And that's when he saw it. Above him, a figure in black dragging something. Something with blonde hair. _Someone_ with blonde hair. And that someone was her. He knew without looking; he could feel the air being knocked out of him as waves of blonde hung over the top of the tower, draping the wooden beams in beautiful silken strands.

There was a single moment of clarity in Caleb's head for the first time since he'd kissed Hanna in the motel room. He wasn't sure how long it lasted or how he'd been able to reason this, but he knew he wasn't going to make it to the top of that tower in time. Him letting her down was the reason she was up there. He wasn't going to do it again.

"Aria and I will follow this tunnel." Ezra told the rest of the group. "You two should take the car and head back to town. Look anywhere you think Hanna could be: backyards, woods, graveyard, abandoned buildings. Just anywhere and everywhere."

"And when you find the end of that tunnel?" Toby asked the other male.

"We'll look for clues, any sign that indicates the direction they went in."

Toby looked toward Spencer who nodded her agreement.

"And guys?" Ezra called toward the pair. "No more splitting up. Nobody gets left alone."

Toby set his mouth in a hard line before softening his expression at his former girlfriend. "Agreed."

"Where do we start?" Toby asked as Spencer buckled herself in to the passenger seat.

"I don't know. My backyard? The graveyard? I…" Her voice faltered as she caught sight of herself in the side mirror. Her hair had fallen out of the neat bun at the back of her head and was beginning to frame her face in loose, waving tendrils. The mascara she'd so carefully applied earlier had smudged with tears she hadn't realised were leaking from her eyes and her skin was ashen and dull. "I look old."

"Spence…"

"We're too old for this now. I haven't had a plan - a proper plan - in months and I actually think I don't care anymore. I'm tired of keeping secrets. I'm tired of lying. I'm tired of trying to outsmart someone I don't know. I'm tired of pretending to be okay."

Toby reached over to brush her tears away from her cheeks, catching her top lip ever-so-softly as he did so. "We find Hanna tonight. Then we tell the police everything." His eyes weren't even on the road anymore. "And then it's over."

The lights of the town arrived in their vision like lines of confusion. Any route could take them the completely wrong way. Or the right one. Neither needed to spell out the consequences if they took too long; Hanna - and now possibly Caleb too - would be in further danger.

And it came then, like an announcement of transparency: the bell tower.

The door to the church was open and yet there were no lights illuminating the place.

"Hanna!? Caleb!?"

Spencer and Toby moved carefully, stepping lightly on each wooden floorboard so as not to miss anything, any clues, any details - however tiny - that could lead them to the two in danger. It was Spencer's scream first, then Toby's half-strangled shout that resounded around the building which had seen more than its fair share of secrets.

They were there - the two of them - lying in a crumpled heap of black and red. Caleb's left leg was bent at a 45 degree angle, his right soaked in red and brown. His torso was twisted in toward Hanna, her head partly against his chest as blood leaked from the corner of her mouth. Between them, crushed and missing all but one petal, was a single lilac flower.


	2. White

**A/N-** Hey guys, thank you sooooooo much for your lovely reviews. You spurred me on to upload this chapter sooner :) So although this is technically the end of this fic, I've also uploaded a one-shot entitled 'Guarded' which I've written to fit some time after this chapter. Hopefully next weekend I'll have another Haleb oneshot ready - It's called 'Into the Woods' and is kind of fluff (camping-related, obviously)

Anyway, hope you enjoy this and please review at the end :) One more thing - I have some ideas for Spoby fics so let me know if you'd be interested.

Gracie xxx

* * *

Black and White Love

Everything hurt. _Everything_ : both legs, his arms, ribs, back and God, did his head hurt.

"Hanna?"

"Hey." Spencer smiled shyly at him. "It's me."

"Where's Hanna?"

"How are you feeling?"

"Where's Hanna?" He was more insistent this time, not even regretting it when his raised voice made it seem as though his head might split in two.

"She's in the ICU." Toby's voice filled the room.

"Is she going to be okay?"

"Caleb, she was hurt pretty badly - and so were you." Spencer reached out an arm and Caleb winced as he tried to move his away. She pretended not to notice.

"Is she going to be okay?"

"The doctors don't know."

"How are you feeling?" It was Toby who asked this time, drawing a step closer to place a hand on Spencer's shoulder. "Spence, maybe you should grab some sleep?"

She shook her head, so Toby continued, "Or at least a coffee?"

"Yeah." She nodded, offering a small, tight smile. "I'll be right back."

Toby waited for Spencer to close the door behind her. "You feel like crap right?"

"I've definitely felt better." Caleb half-smiled. "But I'm going to ask again and I want you to be honest with me. How's Hanna?"

Toby cleared his throat, taking a while - even for him - to find the right words. "She has a lot of internal injuries...bleeding, bruising. She was hit in the head pretty hard. And then she fell from the-"

"-She was pushed." Caleb interrupted. "She didn't _fall_ , she was pushed."

"Are you sure? I mean, she could have been running away, she could have fallen-"

"-I saw. I tried to catch her, break her fall."

"You weren't attacked by A?" Toby's voice was startled, confused.

"I saw A _dragging_ her across the top of the bell tower and I knew I wasn't going to make it to the top to save her." He explained, wincing again as he used his arm to try and push himself a little further up the bed. The beeping of the heart monitor next to him was becoming an incessant headache. "I knew I couldn't catch her. But I figured if I could break her fall, or if she landed on me then surely that was better than the floor."

Toby's wide eyes and stunned silence told Caleb that the police had no idea of the truth.

Caleb continued. "Does she have protection in ICU?"

"She's not allowed visitors. Nobody up there is."

"Does she have protection?"

Understanding that his question was more of an order, Toby gestured to his cell. "I'll see that she has someone covering her room.

 **X**

Days turned into a week and then two. Spencer had spent most of her time seated by his bedside, accompanied usually by Toby - when he wasn't working. He'd had a visit from everyone - even his mom - but the one person he wanted to see walk through that door was lying upstairs in the ICU with wires and god knows what else attached to her body. Every waking minute he spent wishing he'd gotten to that bell tower seconds earlier - she wouldn't have had to fall so far.

The rain had been pouring incessantly from the grey, preganant clouds above until one day, unforecasted, it stopped. It made Caleb think of Hanna and the time they'd spent a whole day lying outside under the lazy heat of the sun in her backyard just listening to music. They hadn't even eaten that day - just listened with their hands entwined and their eyes closed.

Spencer smiled as she entered, resting a hand on his leg as she sat down beside the bed.

"So the doctors think you can go home in the next few days?"

Caleb nodded.

"That's great, right?"

"Spence…" He hadn't planned on this conversation. But yet, in his heart - and probably in hers too - he knew it would - and had to - happen. "I can't tell you that I love you." He said softly, placing a hand over hers.

"It's okay."

"I think, before I ended up here... I think that I wanted to. But I'm sorry. I'm in lo-"

"- I know."

Her smile wasn't even forced; her hand still resting on his leg. "I'll stay though, keep you company for a few hours? Toby's picking me up when he finishes his shift."

 **X**

Caleb waited until the officer guarding Hanna's room went on his break. He'd have to tell Toby to ensure there were two members of security at all times, but for now, having only one was perfect.

Nothing though - not what happened at the bell tower, at Mona's, in Ravenswood - _nothing_ had prepared him for the sight of her fragile body surrounded by tubes. There was a thick, plastic one stuffed down her throat - clearly to help her breathe. There were wires of differing colours and thicknesses attached to her fingers and taped to her arms. But God, so looked perfect. There was no blood staining her blonde waves or her porcelain skin. She looked angelic.

And then, breaking his perfectly imperfect moment was gasping, choking, sucking sounds. Horrible beeping and jagged, shaking movements.

"Nurse!" He screamed louder than when he first got to the church, those weeks ago.

A team in blue flooded the room, ushering him to a side as they switched knobs and pulled on tubes. As quickly as they arrived, they seemed to disperse, leaving Caleb with quite possibly the best sight he'd ever seen: her blue eyes, bright and open. And he knew then, that the unforecasted weather was a sign, that _she'd_ woken the sun.

"You shouldn't be in here." One nurse, lingering long enough to adjust the bed and reshape a pillow beneath Hanna's head told him.

"I need to see her - please."

The tone of his voice must have done enough to justify his presence in that room - at least for the nurse - and so she nodded her head with a warning look. "Five minutes. If she can't talk, it'll be because her throat's dry. She can have ice chips and nothing else." She indicated the tray beside the bed, warning one more time, "Five minutes."

Hanna made an attempt to speak, but as the nurse had predicted, words failed. Caleb passed the cup of ice chips towards her, and realising that there was no straw and she couldn't manage to hold the cup herself, took one between his fingers, pushing it into her mouth gently. He used the pads of his thumbs to wipe her lips as she closed her eyes.

"Another?"

She nodded her 'yes' and he repeated the process again, and again, and for a third time until she scratched out a "thanks" in a voice that didn't seem like hers.

Caleb placed the cup down on the bedside table closest to him. Neither said anything but Caleb was simply content for the moment that she was alive. A weight that he hadn't realised had been present in his chest lifted a little.

Before either had realised where his hands were going, his fingertips were tracing circles across her forehead, along her jawline and towards the edge of her mouth. He stared at her skin and Hanna watched him until his fingers stopped at the crease of her mouth.

"There was blood coming from here the last time I saw you." He gulped.

"Caleb…"

He shushed her, his hands continuing their delicate examination of her head as she closed her eyes against his touch. She couldn't watch him look at her the way he'd done in that motel room.

"That's your five minutes." The nurse from earlier boomed in. "Honey, we need to examine you now that you're conscious."

"Where are you taking her?" Caleb asked, panicked.

"We can do it here, but she'll need privacy." The nurse shot him a look. "I believe there's a bed downstairs with your name on the chart."

It was only at the nurse's words that Hanna realised Caleb too was bandaged and bruised.

"You're…" Her throat was almost too sore and dry to choke out the words, but she managed, "in here?"

"I'll wait outside." Caleb told her. "Make sure nobody comes in."

 **X**

He sat for hours each day in a hard, plastic chair outside of Hanna's room. Her mom had visited the day day she'd woken. The next day was Aria and Emily. Spencer came on the third - with Toby no less - and Caleb thought he spotted Toby's hand resting on the small of Spencer's back for most of their visit. Oddly perhaps, it was comforting.

Each time Hanna's visitors left, she'd been asleep or he hadn't been allowed inside of the room and so he stayed in that plastic chair and waited until he was. It was on his final day before being discharged and it was worth the wait.

"Hey baby."

He hadn't called her that in a _long_ time. It felt good.

"How are you?" She asked, pushing herself up a little on the bed. Caleb moved to adjust the pillow below her back and she smiled at him, the kind of smile that he figured would melt ice caps in the Arctic.

"I think I should be asking you that."

"I wish our plan had gone better. And I wish I didn't hurt this much."

"Hanna I'm so sorry." Caleb began. "If I-"

"-Caleb, don't." She couldn't bare him apologising. "Toby told me what you did. How you...how you stopped me from landing on the floor."

"I wish I'd got there sooner."

"Stop it." Her voice was a little harsher this time. "Are you okay. I mean...you were hurt pretty badly too."

He shrugged with a smile. "Just a little bruised."

"You look good in bruises." She smiled, placing the fingers of her left hand oh-so-lightly on the edge of his largest purple and green swelling on his hand. Her touch was so soft, so gentle that it felt like a feather - only it didn't tickle. It left a warm tingling that spread up his arms and down his neck, his breath catching in his throat as he looked at her. Even in that hospital gown she looked like an angel in white.

Caleb reciprocated her touch. Just as she'd been so gentle with him, he traced each bruise along her arm carefully with the pad of his thumb, brushing her skin in downward strokes toward her hand. And that's when she noticed; the fourth finger of her left hand was bare.

Watching her eyes flicker to her finger, Caleb removed his hand and searched in his jeans pocket until he found the ring he'd picked up from the woods.

"I found it." He showed her the ring in his hand, but couldn't fathom the expression on her face.

"It was the only thing I could think of to leave as a clue. I figured I needed my shoes in case I had the chance to run."

Caleb chuckled ever so slightly as he shook his head. "Look at you with the smarts."

"Guess I wasn't smart enough not to get kidnapped."

"Hanna, this isn't your fault - you know that, right? I should have checked the floor, kept you safer."

She shook her head. "Don't apologise."

"Here." He turned the ring to its correct orientation and took hold of her left hand with his to angle it ready.

"Please don't." She snatched her hand away. "I don't want you to put someone else's ring on my finger."

He gave it to her instead and she reached across to the bedside table, wincing as she twisted too far when placing it there.

 **X**

It wasn't right. He couldn't lie there in his apartment and sleep, knowing that Hanna was in the hospital - still guarded only by one policeman because (according to Toby at least) resources were already stretched following up the case. And so it was at 2am that Caleb pulled on the grey cotton jacket hanging over a chair, and made his way to the hospital.

The first thing he noticed was that she wasn't asleep. The second? The ring was no longer on the bedside table - and so it must be on her left hand.

"Han?"

The initial smile on her face was replaced by confusion as she noticed the time. "What are you doing here?"

"Making sure you're safe."

At that moment, Hanna realised that although she'd known she'd never stopped loving him, she was also completely and utterly still _in love_ with Caleb too. He took a seat beside her bed and took her hand in his. It was her left one; minus the ring. Perhaps it was inappropriate but it was an involuntary response - his fingers stroking her bare skin where, only a few weeks previously, a diamond had sat.

Hanna used all her strength to shift her weight so that she had freed some space on the bed behind her.

"Can you make sure I'm safe over here?"

He sure as hell didn't need to be asked twice. With complete care, Caleb lay down on the bed behind her, tucking his right arm under the pillow so that it supported her neck. His left held her close to him, resting gently on her right shoulder so that every inch of his body was touching hers. Hanna finally closed her eyes to sleep as she inhaled with contentment, while he rested his lips against the nape of her neck.

"I never stopped loving you either."


End file.
